Medium
by Seak
Summary: A story about life and its little surprises. About Hikaru and the things he learns about himself and the people around him. And most of all about Sai. Rurouni Kenshin xover.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Umm… I've started something that I shouldn't have?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

* * *

**

**Medium**

Chapter One

* * *

Sai watched Hikaru sleep and smiled sadly. 

He was growing up so fast that at times all Sai had to do was blink and Hikaru somehow managed to gain an inch or two, it was impossible he knew but it sure felt that way.

He closed his eyes and felt the ach of tears and it was all he could do to make them stop. Hikaru could not hear him anymore, could no longer see him and it broke his heart watching his young friend fall apart, hearing his cries for him and unable to do anything.

"Hikaru!" he'd scream, "I'm here! I'm here!" But he knew Hikaru could not hear him.

And so he watched for these past three years, as the young boy he knew grew up and matured becoming the young man he knew today.

He reached out as if to touch the teenager's forehead but knew that he would not be able to feel anything - he was a ghost after all. "I'm here Hikaru," he whispered and as if hearing him in his sleep, Hikaru smiled.

* * *

Saitou Hajime was a dangerous man, he was the type of man people would like to avoid preferring to pretend that the big bad wolf didn't exist. A high ranking police officer, he was sharp, intelligent man who took fools and tended to rip them apart, in fact it was his favorite past time.

Not just a moment ago however his Chief (the arrogant bastard) was carefully hinting that a holiday would do him a world of good. He had no choice but to do as his chief commanded, not if he wanted to end up in the position of training instructor again, though he had an odd feeling that he would never be assigned that position again.

Was it his fault that there were more drop outs in his classes then there were for the past ten years? His reply to his Chief had been, weeding out the morons. It was the truth as far as he was concerned.

Saitou took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled, the smoke billowing in the air and silently wondered how he was going to manage a holiday after chasing criminals for over fifteen years. He could barely remember ever having a holiday in fact, he didn't think he ever had one. It was an odd feeling having nothing to do.

He decided it was much better going out and killing criminals than it was to laze and by far much more fun. His golden eyes narrowed and a sharks smile appeared, perhaps there was something to do after all.

And if there was a presence in his office which hadn't been there before, he choice to ignore it, it was just a ghost after all.

He'll exorcise it later.

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes:**

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy"a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: aznMI : **There's a typo! searches frantically Where? WHERE!

(Now that we got that over with) _I wanted to thank you for reviewing and reading my stories as it makes my day to know that I have such a cool reader who actually likes my writing. THANK YOU!_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

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Medium**

Chapter Two

* * *

"Hikaru!" Sai shouted excitedly and studiously ignoring the fact that Hikaru could not hear him. "You got into the preliminaries!" 

He jumped excitedly and his long billowing sleeves flapped around him as his hands outstretched to hug the teenager but almost immediately he stilled knowing that there would be no acknowledgment of his presence.

He smiled sadly, "You've grown Hikaru."

Hikaru sighed and leaned against his bed, eyeing the go board as he re-played one of his and Sai's games. "I wonder what you're up to Sai, are you playing Go wherever you are?" he asked himself.

Sai immediately burst in tears. "No!" he wailed.

Hikaru's voice grew softer. "Are you happy, Sai?"

Sai's wailing grew louder. "No!" and then quickly shook his head. "Yes, I am happy, I'm happy that I could watch over you but Hikaru… can't you hear me? Please Hikaru! I'm right here!"

Hikaru smiled and looked at the ceiling. "Ne… Sai… I hope wherever you are that you're happy."

Sai almost stamped his foot in frustration. "Why?" he asked. "Why can't you hear me anymore Hikaru?"

Although he had been asking that question for these past three years just like Hikaru had been asking the question as to why he left, he knew there would be no answer.

Kami-sama was indeed a cruel master.

* * *

Saitou was bored, he was very bored. Just what did a man have to do to get some entertainment around here? Killing criminals it seemed was not allowed for an officer to do on a holiday, so… what was there to do?

A ghostly presence began to hover outside his home and he twitched in annoyance. His house had been heavily warded a long time ago but that did not prevent him from sensing them. He wondered if ignoring them would make them go away, he wasn't in the mood to start exorcising spirits especially when he felt like killing something living not dead.

He stuck a cig into his mouth and lit up, his lips curled into a cruel smile and went outside, eyeing his immaculate garden and immediately spied the ghost.

His cruel smile vanished and an annoyed expression appeared instead.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Oro?" the ghost uttered, his violet eyes widening innocently.

"Moron! I asked you a simple question!"

"Ma, ma." The red headed ghost said flapping a hand at him. "Sessha is here because sessha was told to."

Saitou's eyes narrowed, what kind of explanation was that? A distinct growl rose from his throat, "Battousai," his hands itched for a sword and reached for his cig instead.

The ghost smiled benignly at him and tilted his head as if he was listening to someone talking.

If it was possible Saitou's eyes narrowed further and a distinct uneasy feeling began to churn in his stomach.

The ghost nodded and turned to him. "Sessha is here only as a messenger Saitou-san."

He took in a long drag and let it out slowly, "You do know what happens to messengers don't you?" he asked calmly.

"You can't kill me Saitou-san though you are welcome to try."

He gritted his teeth and silently cursed the fact that the red headed ghost was right. "So what is it?" he demanded impatiently.

The ghost practically beamed at him which only seemed to make him more annoyed. "You are to have a student!"

There was a moment of dead silence.

"_Ahou! Do I look like the nurturing type?_"

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes:**

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy" a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai" _**Yes

_"**Ahou**" _Moron / idiot / stupid


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **

**aznMI: **You annoying me? _NEVER _I'm glad for your support. It's always good to know that if I write something there would always be someone out there who would read it.

In fact I'm genuinely happy that people actually reviewed and liked this story.

Special thanks to **_booklover9_** & **_Uenki_** for reviewing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

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Medium**

Chapter Three

* * *

"Ma, ma!" The ex-hitokiri said placating, raising up his hands in a gesture of peace. "You're simply going to have a student for your holidays after that you don't have see the child again. We don't want you to teach the child how to kill de gozaru. (A look of relief evident in his eyes) We want you to teach the child how to see ghosts."

Saitou raised an eyebrow and eyed the rurouni wondering if there was a hitch to this seemingly innocent request. "Why?"

Battousai smiled innocently and Saitou cursed whoever taught him that expression, it didn't belong on a killer no matter how much redemption he may seek. "Because Saitou-san you are the only medium within Tokyo."

An impatient expression crossed his face. "I know that moron!" he snapped glaring at him, "Why does the kid need to learn?"

"Oh!" The ghost scratched his head sheepishly but silently wondered if it was a good thing to tell him, Saitou-san might decide to be himself and refuse. Maybe getting kami-sama's name into it might help? No, he thought Saitou-san would _still_ act himself and refuse. "The child needs to learn because it is within his destiny." That sounded good, didn't it?

Saitou snorted in contempt. Did it look like he had a hole in the head? "Give me a better one or I'm going inside." And then wondered why he hadn't just gone inside the moment he had spied the ghost, it's not like the rurouni could follow anyways.

"Ma, ma!" Battousai said frantically waving his hands. "We want to help the child de gozaru! It is just for the holiday Saitou-san and after you have taught him you will never see him again." The ghost's violet eyes narrowed. "And you owe me."

Saitou froze, his cigarette half way to his mouth and then sighed. The red headed moron was right, he did owe him. "All right, I'll re-pay my dept but on one condition, if this student is a moron like I suspect he is, I'll drop him."

The rurouni grimaced but nodded.

"So what's my new student's name?"

"Shindou," the ghost said happily, "Shindou Hikaru."

* * *

"Ahchew!" 

Hikaru sneezed and wiped his nose with his sleeve.

"Shindou!" Touya Akira snapped seriously annoyed. "You just sneezed all over the Go board!"

Hikaru glared at him and was about to reply when he felt his nose begin to itch again. "Ahchew!" he sneezed deliberately spraying the boy across from him.

Akira fumed silently and slowly pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his face, once he had finished however it was a different story entirely. "I am going to kill you!"

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes:**

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy"a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni_**" Wanderer / leaderless samurai


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **

_Here are my answers to a few reviews: _

**aznMI:** You are the best fan a writer could have! I've never actually had a devoted fan before so it's great fun reading your reviews. Have fun reviewing! I'll read every one of them.

**Fayalargo Winterwoelfin: **Thanks for your review!

THANK YOU to GiftFromBelow, Firehedgehog, dragon shadow, star, AECKung for reviewing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

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Medium**

Chapter Four

* * *

If Saitou thought that with his agreement to accept a student would make the annoying red headed ghost go away he was seriously wrong. It seemed that the ghost was stuck with him until he had completed the boy's training. 

"You didn't mention that to me!" He growled giving the rurouni his wolf like glare.

"Ma, ma!" Battousai said flapping his in hands as a sign of peace.

Saitou's eye began to twitch in annoyance, he hated everything about the rurouni and his actions only seemed to annoy him further. He especially hated the _Ma, ma_ action with the flapping hands. That seriously ticked him off. He could not go back on the agreement and he had the funny feeling that the reason Battousai was with him was make sure he didn't destroy the child.

"Enough!" he barked, "I'm going inside."

"Oro?" Battousai said in confusion, "But I can't go in."

Saitou smirked. "I know."

Now, he wondered eagerly, what did his wife cook for dinner?

Sai smiled amused at the teenager's antics. It seemed Touya Akira had quite the temper on him but then he knew that already.

He raised a delicate hand to his lips and chuckled. He was happy, happy that Hikaru had recovered from his depression of his disappearance and had created such a good friendship with Akira. And he was proud, extremely proud how strong Hikaru had become.

His smile saddened. "Hikaru, can you hear me? I'm right here, standing right next to you. Can you hear me?"

And it broke his heart because Hikaru couldn't hear him.

* * *

"This is where you went wrong!" Akira snapped pointing to a cluster of black and white stones. 

Hikaru made a face, "No I didn't!" he barked. "I was going to take that territory if you hadn't distracted me with that stupid move here!"

"It's not stupid!" Akira yelled.

"Yes it is!"

"Your inability to notice an ingenious move makes you blind to future moves. If you hadn't noticed I would have connected here if you hadn't blocked me and taken over this group."

"I know I'm good."

"Shut up! That's why you lost down here!" And pointed back to where he was pointing before.

"Shut up? _Shut up_?" Hikaru demanded incredulously, "Why don't _you_ shut up pretty boy?"

Akira immediately stood up, his green eyes flashing dangerously, "Pretty boy?"

Hikaru slapped his hand on the table and stood up as well, glaring at Akira. "Yes, pretty boy."

"I'm not the one who lost bleach head." Akira practically growled.

Hikaru's face got redder, "I'm going home!" He stalked away from the table and to the reception area, ignoring the old men who were playing in the salon and were watching them in avid amusement.

Ichikawa held out his bag for him and he quickly snatched it with a scowl on his face.

As he left however he couldn't help but smile.

He had fun today.

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes:**

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy"a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni" _**Wanderer / leaderless samurai


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I know! I'm so sorry for not updating in a while. I was busy! Working, searching for that new and much better job (which for some reason doesn't seem to exist…)

Anyways here is the next chapter. I hope you like it! (Though it is short)

Thanks to **aznMI**, **Fayalargo Winterwoelfin **and **Firehedgehog** for your reviews, I really appreciate them.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

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Medium**

Chapter Five

* * *

Saitou Hajime eyed the Japanese Go Institute in dubious disbelief and his fingers itched for a smoke, instead he stared at the photo in his hand before pocketing it. It seemed the kid or should he say teenager? Wasn't a complete moron as he thought. 

For teenagers these days to be interested in the game of Go was extraordinary, especially one who looked like the kid in the photo. After some intense research on this Shindou Hikaru, he had learned some contradicting facts about him but he had also learned that this kid had one _very_ boring life. There was no killing whatsoever. Just Go and more Go.

He knew it was a game of generals and masters and yes, he knew how to play the game but that didn't stop him from being bored with it. He'd much preferred killing then to defeating his opponents on the board.

He stepped into the Institute and slipped a hand into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, took out a smoke and lit it. He inhaled deeply and slowly let the smoke out of his lungs.

"Ahh… Saitou-san, I think you're scaring the nice people." His eyes flickered to the annoying Rurouni Kenshin and then to the nice people who were staring at him. He sighed and immediately slipped into his Fujita Goro persona and smiled.

"Ahh… gomen nasai." He said bowing, in a complete differently tone of voice. Himura Kenshin stared at him, as Saitou Hajime actually sounded benign, non-threatening and _nice_. "Am I not allowed to smoke in here?" he asked innocently holding out his smoke.

The woman at the counter hastily shook her head. "Iie… smoking is permitted. You simply gave us quite a scare, I see now that you are a good man. Please… is there anything you need help with?" she asked politely.

"Hai, I was looking for a boy named Shindou Hikaru," he scratched his head and laughed sheepishly. "I'm a relative of his and came down to watch him play."

The woman practically beamed at him. "It is good that family would come down and see Shindou-kun, his on the twelfth floor playing for the preliminaries of the Tengen title."

Saitou's smile grew bigger and Kenshin couldn't help but shiver, had the room gotten colder? He was a ghost, should he even be feeling room temperatures?

"Domo arigato," Saitou said politely before immediately walking towards the elevator.

* * *

Sai couldn't help but feel uneasy, there was something, something coming and it sent shivers down his spine. He huddled closer to Hikaru that he almost went straight through him and pulled back slightly. Hikaru did not know he was here. 

He eyed the open doorway nervously. He could feel it, a dangerous presence had come.

He turned frantically to his young friend. "Hikaru! Get up! Get up! Something dangerous is coming!" He reached out to grab his arm but his hands encountered nothing.

He flapped his arms in frustration, his billowing white sleeves flapping around him and began to twitch nervously. "Hikaru!" he shouted desperately.

There was no acknowledgment.

He turned, immediately feeling the presence near the doorway, his eyes widened clearly frightened. "His here."

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes:**

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy" a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Domo Arigato_**" Another formal version of Thank You only even more formal.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni" _**Wanderer / leaderless samurai


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **I'm so sorry! Its been over two months hasn't it? I've been busy (and lazy) and just never got around to posting this chapter so I hope you enjoy it.

Oh and to make up for it I've posted two chapters!

Cheers!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

* * *

Medium**

Chapter Six

* * *

Sai shrank back slightly but then straightened, gathering his strength and stood tall, he would protect Hikaru with everything he had. He stared fixated at the doorway with determination. 

A man stepped through, a tall man whose aura seemed barely even there.

Sai knew this man was alive, knew he was human but why did his very presence send his soul into uneasiness? And then this man whose gentle smile and heavy lidded eyes suddenly turned to him and he found himself staring straight into frightening gold eyes.

He knew that if he was alive, his heart would have stopped, was the man staring at him? And his aura which had barely been there was now huge and horrifying.

The man's eyes, he realized, they have killed before, they have seen death and enjoyed it.

"Hikaru!" he screamed frantically turning to the boy whose intense concentration on the game barely noticed the new presence at the doorway. "Hikaru! Run! Get out of here. Get everyone out of here!" Tears of frustration filled his eyes. "Hikaru listen to me! Get everyone out of here! The man's dangerous!" The tears began to fall and he sobbed knowing that Hikaru could not hear him. "Why can't you hear me?"

"Ma, ma!" a gentle voice said behind him. "Saitou-san is not here to kill anyone that he is not."

Sai shot up, his eyes widening, was someone speaking to him? He turned slowly and found himself staring at a small man, whose long red hair was tied up into a messy ponytail and had the most vivid purple eyes he had ever seen. If fact he had never seen anyone with this man's coloring before. "You can see me?" he asked hopefully.

The man nodded. "That I can de gozaru, after all I am just like you."

"You're a ghost?"

"Hai." The red headed man said smiling gently.

Sai's trembling hand went to his lips and he smiled, happy tears falling from his eyes. "Thank you!" Before immediately jumping towards the small man and hugging him tightly.

"Oro!"

He pulled away and saw swirls in the man eyes and chuckled sheepishly. "Sumimasen I got carried away."

The small man recovered and smiled. "Iie, it's alright, it's good to know that there is someone who could see and hear you otherwise it is very lonely indeed, that it is."

Sai bowed his head unable to say anything because it was the truth. It was very lonely.

"Ma!" the man said sounding apologetic. "I had forgotten to introduce myself! My name is Himura Kenshin and the man sitting and watching the game is Saitou Hajime and you don't need to worry, his a police officer so he does not kill innocent people."

"Oh!" Sai said sighing with relief, he turned to Himura-san. "He had such a scary aura and such frightening eyes… I thought…" he trailed off knowing that anything further and he would make it worse.

Himura-san did not seem to be bothered however. "Hai… Saitou-san does seem a little scary doesn't he?"

Golden eyes flickered to them and smirked before turning back to the board.

"Ahh… Himura-san… can he hear us?" Sai asked nervously.

Kenshin smiled innocently. "That he does."

Sai stared at him as the implications of such a statement hit him before he too smiled as hope blossomed in his chest. "Hikaru…"

"Will be his student de gozaru."

A startled expression of incredibility crossed his face. "_Nani?_"

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes:**

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy" a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Domo Arigato_**" Another formal version of Thank You only even more formal.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni" _**Wanderer / leaderless samurai


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Here's the second update!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

* * *

Medium**

Chapter Seven

* * *

Hikaru rarely noticed his surroundings when he was in a competitive match of Go but somehow this was different. Maybe it was because there was a scary man watching him play and here he thought he had gotten over the whole older-person-intimidation-thing. But one look at the man and the smoke haze that surrounded him and he changed his mind. He wasn't the only one affected either, his opponent's hands were shaking and his eyes kept shifting to the man and then back to the Go board. 

So they were both intimidated and both of them hunched a little over the Go board and wondered who this _very_ scary man could be.

Hikaru being the over-confident and loud boy that he was had the overwhelming urge to tell the man to go away and that he was disrupting the game. One look at the man's face however and he decided against it. It's not like he hadn't had people watch his game before in fact he seemed to thrive on the atmosphere of expectation and pressure. So why was this man so different from all the others?

He shook his head, no, he thought, concentrate and ignore him, this is not helping your game. With a flick of his wrist, his fan uncurled as he made his move on the left hand corner, dominating his opponent's territory. His opponent, Akeyama Tohru-san, a four dan and aged twenty-four made a distressed sound as he realized the outcome of the game. He bowed his head in defeat. "I resign."

Hikaru nodded and bowed in return. "Domo arigato."

"Shindou Hikaru?"

Hikaru looked up and turned in dread at the man who had called his name, there was only one man sitting beside them and somehow he didn't want to go anywhere with him. "Hai," he answered his eyes slightly suspicious.

The man smiled kindly as if knowing his thoughts. "A moment of your time please Shindou-kun, I'd like to discuss an important matter with you."

Hikaru stared blankly at him not sure and confused all of a sudden. He had thought the man was scary and yet now that he was talking to him, he realized that man wasn't scary at all. In fact he was really _nice_.

Hikaru raised his hand sheepishly behind his head and laughed, slightly relieved and nodded. "Sure!" He got up having already put away his stones and followed the man out into the hallway. The place was still empty for private conversation but safe enough that if he called out for help someone would always hear. Just to be safe he thought. They ended up a little further away from the competition area where seats were lined next to a couple of vendor machines.

The man didn't bother to sit but leaned against the wall, opposite the seats and pulled out a cigarette before immediately lighting up. Hikaru shifted uncomfortably and hastily revised his earlier opinion, the man really _was_ scary. He hadn't really noticed it before but his amber eyes were like a wolf - very scary.

The man took a drag before releasing the smoke and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile at all - it was down-right frightening. "You're probably wondering why I asked to speak with you." The man started his tone of voice completely different then before, it was hard, caustic and sardonic all at once.

"Yeah," Hikaru said crossing his arms and giving him a reserved look. He decided to lean against the vendor machine rather then sit down and look up at the man, even _if_ the man was still a head taller then him.

The man's smile still remained. "I am going to make you an offer and you can accept or refuse, I don't really care which." He stated taking another drag of his cig and flicking the ashes to the floor.

Hikaru said nothing suddenly sensing that this man's offer had nothing to do with Go. "Yeah? And what is that?" he asked.

The man's lips widened into a shark's smile and his eyes were suddenly very intense, "Do you believe in ghosts, boy?"

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes: **

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy" a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Domo Arigato_**" Another formal version of Thank You only even more formal.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni" _**Wanderer / leaderless samurai

"**_Nani_**" What


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **

Just to let everyone know, this is an experiment with my writing. I used to write continuation stories along time ago with chapters that were a mile long, however, I seem to lose interest pretty fast and though I would write long chapters, I could never complete the story (much to the disappointment of my readers). This story is something I'm trying to experiment with, to actually see if I could pull it off and actually finish it, not only that, but to get the plot flowing and actually creating a fun and funny story (and enjoy writing it while I'm at it). I love writing angst because I am very good at it but lately I've written happy and amusing stories which I discovered I was pretty good at too. So now I actually want to _try_ to actually _complete_ something. And so I want to thank you guys for being so supportive as it really does mean a lot to me. **_THANK YOU_**.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

* * *

Medium**

Chapter Eight

* * *

Hikaru opened his mouth then closed it, opened it again but then quickly closed it. A myriad of emotions fluttered across his face from confusion to happiness to disbelief to wariness. And yet he could not hide the hope in his eyes. What he couldn't believe however, was why a man, such as the man across from him, who looked firmly stuck in reality, would ask such a weird _question_. 

The man frowned and glared at him impatiently. "Your fish like gapping is making you look a like an idiot - stop it."

Hikaru's face reddened embarrassingly and he stopped, returning the man's glare. "What does believing in ghosts have to do with anything?" he demanded defensively.

The man's eyes narrowed coldly. "I don't have all day, kid. Just answer the simple question."

Hikaru straightened, the red in his cheeks no longer of embarrassment but of anger. "And if I do? What are you going to do about it?" he snapped.

The man suddenly smiled, clearly amused and took a long drag from his smoke and finishing it off before flicking the bud to the ground and crushing it under his heal. He released the smoke slowly from his lips before speaking. "At the moment?" he queried calmly, "Nothing," he stated. "However the question is… do you _want_ to _see_ him?"

A blank expression fell on Hikaru's face. "_Who_?"

"The man in white with the tall, black hat and female hair." He bluntly informed him, pointing a finger to something beside him.

Hikaru turned slowly, his eyes wide with hope. _Sai_, he thought, his heart pounding as he searched for his wayward friend only to find nothing but the vendor machine. He turned back quickly and glared at the man. "There's no one there!" he growled angrily.

A flash of contempt flickered in the man's eyes. "Of course there isn't anyone there, boy. You can't _see_ him with that stupid brain of yours. Your connection to the spirit is dead. I bet that girly-man (he sneered) could feel him self fading from your conscience." His eyes moved over to empty space. "Shut-up." He told empty air.

Hikaru clenched his fists in anger. "You're playing with me aren't you!" Tears gathered in his eyes, ones of pain, anger and frustration. He wiped his hands across his face, furious that he should be seen crying in front of such a man.

The man's eyes narrowed coldly, ice seemed to emanate from him. "Do I look the type who would play stupid games?" his forceful voice demanded as he straightened, stalking towards him. "I'm only here for one thing kid. I'm here to teach you how to see the spirit world, I don't care about your emotional attachments or who the hell you loved or lost. If you don't want to learn that's fine by me."

Hikaru stared at him in confusion. "Why?"

He stepped away and pulled out another cigarette from his pocket. "That is none of your business." He stated coldly, slipping the cig in-between his lips and lighting up. He turned away and began walking towards the elevators. "Call me when you get over your pansy emotions." He flicked a card into the air and Hikaru scrambled to catch it.

He read the card and frowned in disbelief. "You're a cop!" he shrieked.

The empty hallway met his reply.

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes: **

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy" a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Domo Arigato_**" Another formal version of Thank You only even more formal.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni" _**Wanderer / leaderless samurai

"**_Nani_**" What


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **I have returned! And I'm giving you two chapters! Enjoy!

AznMI: I know how you feel which is why I stick to one-shots most of the time as it means no pressure. Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate it.

And thanks to everyone else who reviewed! I LOVE YOU! (Just not in that way...)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

* * *

Medium**

Chapter Nine

* * *

Hikaru stared at the card in silent contemplation, not really sure what to make of it, should he believe the cop and accept his offer? 

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, leaning heavily against headboard of his bed , and stared at the Go board on the floor of his room. The moment he had the chance he had quickly gone home, wanting some time to himself rather then spending it with Waya and Isumi.

This was some heavy thinking and yet… even if there was a slightest chance that what the cop had said was true and that he had simply lost his connection to Sai…

His hands clenched tightly around the card, he would learn, he would learn to re-build the connection or see the spirit world. He didn't care which way as long as he got to see and speak to Sai in the end.

The thought that Sai had been right here, right next to him, watching but unable to communicate had his chest hitching painfully.

Tears threatened to fall but he quickly sucked it up. "I'm sorry Sai," he whispered. "If you're really here, standing right next to me… I'm sorry." He wiped his sleeve across his eyes and sniffed. "Three years Sai and I always wanted to know why you left but if what the man had said was true then I'm sorry… it's my fault."

He quickly straightened and stared straight ahead as if he could really see Sai. "But don't worry," he said rubbing his face. "I'll fix it so that we can see and speak to each other again." He smiled. "And play Go, I bet you missed that a lot huh?"

Sai stared at his young friend, his eyes bright as he held his fingers to his lips and then promptly burst into tears. "Hikaru!" He wailed sobbing, covering his face with his long sleeves. "I'm so happy!"

He began to zoom across the room unable to contain his energy. He'll get to speak to Hikaru again! He'll get to play Go again!

Sai's eyes sparkled with stars at the possibilities and most of all he was happy because Hikaru will hear him again and in the end that was all that mattered.

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes: **

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy" a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Domo Arigato_**" Another formal version of Thank You only even more formal.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni" _**Wanderer / leaderless samurai

"**_Nani_**" What


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **Transition! Transition! We're almost there! And the second chapter is here!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

**

* * *

Medium**

Chapter Ten

* * *

The ringing of the phone forced her out of sleep and she wondered who in the world would ring at such an hour? One glance at the clock however told her that it was late morning and that a person had every right to ring at such a time. 

She grumbled slightly annoyed and pushed her husband aside, ignoring his wandering hands as he tried to pull her back into bed. She reached for the ringing phone on the bedside table and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked annoyed, running a hand through her messy black hair.

"Ah… hello?" a hesitant voice asked, cracking slightly, telling her that it was a boy going through puberty. "Um… uno… is this Fujita Goro's residence?"

Saitou Tokio immediately straightened, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What did he do?" she demanded.

"Ahh…"

"Did he kill your dog? Is that what he did?" She questioned in an angry voice before turning to her husband and grabbing the pillow and whacking him with it. "Did you kill this boy's dog?" she yelled waving the phone in the air.

Saitou Hajime loved sleeping (not that he would tell anyone) especially when it was with his wife but there was one thing he had learned in their twenty years of marriage and that was that if he woke with a pillow in his face, it meant bad news. He shot up at the first mouth full of pillow and covered his face as his wife's accusations and pillow whacking bombarded him. "I didn't kill anyone's dog!"

She stopped and stared at him for a moment before turning to the phone. "I'm sorry dear but it wasn't my husband who killed your dog."

* * *

Hikaru held the phone away from him and eyed it shakily. The man went around killing people's dogs? 

He suddenly had the scary image of the man holding a katana and running after dogs. Did he want associate himself with a crazy man? He was a police officer right? Wouldn't that make him sane? But did police officers go around telling people that they would teach them how to see ghosts?

Hikaru suddenly felt a headache coming on and careful put the phone back to his ear. Give it a chance he told himself after all how many people knew that he had a connection with a ghost dressed in white and wore a tall hat? None.

Except for this one crazy man.

"Are you still there?" the woman over the phone asked worriedly.

"Ahh… yeah… um… you don't need to worry, no one killed my dog because I don't have one." He replied nervously.

"Oh," came her answer. "Oh dear… I've scared you haven't I?"

"No!" Hikaru quickly assured her, there was no way he was going to admit that yes, she had really scared him.

"Well that is good to hear, so what is it that I can do for you?" she asked politely.

Hikaru swallowed. "Um… I'd like to speak to you husband?" he guessed.

"You _do_?" she shrieked over the phone surprised.

Hikaru's confidence was rapidly disappearing. "Is that wrong?" he asked defensively.

"Oh I'm sorry, it's just that young men don't want to speak to my husband, they just run away from him." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Why?" a squeak fell from his lips before his quickly cleared his throat. "Why?" he said more forcefully.

"Well didn't you know? My husband is a policeman of course!"

Hikaru almost sagged against the wall in relief. _Of course_ he thought, it makes sense, there's a lot of teenagers who'd run from coppers. He scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I knew that, so can I speak to him?" he asked, his voice back to normal.

"Of course!" And in the background he heard the woman lecture the man on politeness and not to scare the kid with useless threats. It seemed to last an awfully long time but could only be a matter of seconds.

"Yes?" came the snarl over the phone.

Hikaru studiously ignored the tone of voice. "I'll be your student."

A pause then, "Good, I'll arrange a meeting for later." And he hung up.

That was it? Hikaru scowled at the phone and slammed it into the cradle. _This had better be worth it Sai_, he thought, _because there's no way I would hang around such a cranky old fart._

_**

* * *

T.B.C**_

**

* * *

Notes: **

"**_Sessha_**" literally means "unworthy" a very old way of addressing oneself

"**_De gozaru_**" means **_that it is_** or **_it is_**. It's an extreme polite form of Japanese that's similar to **_des_** at the end of a sentence. Now you'll realize if you've watched the anime in the original dub form that Rurouni Kenshin always refers to himself in the third person and devotes extreme respect to other people by lowering him self before them in speech form. The Japanese are very polite people and have many forms and expressions which demonstrating this.

"**_Sumimasen_**" a form of apology but not as formal as "**_Gomen nasai_**"

"**_Arigato_**" A formal version of Thank You.

"**_Domo Arigato_**" Another formal version of Thank You only even more formal.

"**_Iie_**" No

"**_Hai_**" Yes

"**_Ahou_**" Moron / idiot / stupid

"**_Kami-sama_**" God (though preferably the Japanese version of a god)

"**_Ruouni" _**Wanderer / leaderless samurai

"**_Nani_**" What


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I'm soooo sorry! I haven't updated in almost a year… its such a horrible thing to do. There's no excuses. I am truly a horrible person to leave you hanging. Umm… forgive me?**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or anything related to Hikaru No Go and Rurouni Kenshin / Peacemaker Kurogane. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners.

* * *

**Medium**

Chapter Eleven

* * *

Himura Kenshin was considered by most people as a gentle man, a kind man whose smile seemed to put many at ease. What does not often occur to these people was that behind this man's harmless features lies a very dangerous man indeed. It was a pity then that he was a ghost and really _was_ harmless to everyone… except for one man of course.

Saitou Hajime glared at the ghost in front of him and silently cursed heaven and hell to giving a ghost such powers that no ordinary ghost should have. It grated on him that this feminine man, whose preference of doing the laundry rather then acting like a man would be considered a ghost of balance for both the dark and light spirit world.

But what angered him the most was that his wards didn't seem to work on the girly-man! It barely had the ghost twitching as he passed the walls into his home! But what was far, _far_ worse was that the ghost could _appear_ to anyone he felt like and had the audacity! _The audacity_! To appear in front of his wife and actually _introduce_ himself!

And now they were happily doing the laundry together and gossiping like a bunch of old women. Saitou's eye began to twitch as he watched them sort out the laundry and suddenly a thought occurred to him just as the Rurouni pulled out…

"Give me that!" He barked, grabbing the small, black piece of cloth out of the ghost's hands - startling him. "I don't know what is wrong with you Battousai but keep your hands well away from my underwear!"

Kenshin blanched at the implication and stared at his hands in horror before promptly going to the sink and scrubbing his palms. "Get it off!" He yelled almost hysterically. "Sesha has dirty germs de gozaru!"

And during this commotion Tokio (Saitou's darling wife) was leaning against the washing machine laughing. Saitou did not find any amusement in such a scene, after all it was not his wife who had found her underwear in some strange man's hands. "It's not funny," he growled at her.

Tokio quickly nodded her head in agreement, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. "Of course it's not," she hastily assured him.

Saitou's eyes narrowed at her in suspicion. "Why do I get the feeling you're playing with me?" he asked warily.

A full blown grin blossomed on her face. "Because I am," she replied cheekily before walking up to him and prying his black underwear out of his hands. "Don't worry anata, _I'll_ wash _all_ your underwear so you can rest easy knowing that only your wife has touched them."

Saitou's eyes flashed furiously and he opened his mouth to deliver a tongue lashing that would peel skin and draw blood. But quickly swallowed them when he spied the dangerous light in her eyes, it did not make for a happy home life if you antagonized ones wife especially the one he was married to.

"Thank you." He muttered humbly.

"Now," she said pecking him lightly on the cheek, "Why don't you call that sweet little boy who rang you in the morning and arrange a time to teach him?"

A startled expression crossed his face. "How…"

She smiled gently and indicated the furiously scrubbing Rurouni. "He told me."

A scowl quickly slipped back onto his features. "Battousai should…"

"You don't want to finish that sentence do you anata?" His wife interrupted pleasantly, though her eyes screamed danger.

Saitou hastily decided retreat was in order and shook his head. Damn but did he need a smoke now. As he turned and left with whatever little dignity he had in tact, he promised himself that he would make the little red headed man pay in blood.

And in the background the cries of "It will not come off de gozaru!" rang tragically though out the house.

* * *

_**T.B.C**_


End file.
